Swedish App Helps You Drink In Moderation

App keeps blood alcohol level at point where effects are positive

Published on Apr 22, 2013

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Swedish alchohol retail monopoly Systembolaget and its agency Forsman & Bodenfors have developed Level 0.06, a smartphone app that encourages people to drink more moderately by helping them keep their blood alcohol level below 0.06 per cent (the point where the positive effects of alcohol are at their peak.). While not intended to be used for drink-drive purposes, the app measures blood alcohol levels based on what you drink to help you cut down but still enjoy a drink.

Users enter personal data, register what they drink, and the app keeps track of their blood alcohol content in real time. They can choose beverages by swiping the glass, adjusting size, strength and if necessary time and then confirming. When they are about to add a new drink, the app shows what they can drink without exceeding 0.06 %. They can also use the app to compare with previous evenings.

Within a few months of its launch, the free app had been downloaded by nearly a quarter of all smartphone owners in Sweden and 24 % of users had reduced their alcohol consumption. Its success is currently being studied at Stockholm's Karolinska Institutet medical university.